PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Scheme)
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PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Scheme)
Context: The state government in Rajasthan has come up with a unique scheme for providing regular or work-from-home employment to the women who have had to quit their earlier jobs because of family reasons. The “Back to Work” scheme will be operated with the help of the private sector.
About the PM Poshan Scheme
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 29, 2021, approved a new meal scheme known as 'Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman' scheme (PM Poshan Scheme) for government and government-aided schools for the next five years (from 2021-22 to 2025-26) with the financial outlay of Rs 1.31 trillion, and the existing 'Mid Day Meal' scheme will also be included in this programme.
Earlier, the scheme was known as the ‘National Scheme for Mid Day Meal in Schools’, popularly known as the 'Mid Day Meal' scheme.
It is a centrally-sponsored scheme, that will provide hot-cooked meals to students of elementary classes in schools and it is expected to benefit about 118 million children studying in classes 1 to 8 across the country, as per the government.
The PM Poshan Scheme also cover students of balvatikas (children in the 3-5 year age group) from pre-primary classes.
The social audit of the scheme has been made mandatory in all the districts of the country and a special provision is made for providing supplementary nutrition items to children in districts with a high prevalence of Anemia and other health-related ailments.
The Centre has directed the states and the UTs to switch to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system for providing compensation to the cooks and helpers working under the scheme.
Use of locally-grown nutritional food items will be encouraged from "school nutrition gardens" for boosting the local economic growth, cooking competitions will be conducted to promote ethnic cuisine and innovative menus and will also include involvement of Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO) and Women Self Help Groups in the implementation of the scheme.
The revamped scheme essentially does away with the restriction on the part of the Centre to provide funds only for wheat, rice, pulses and vegetables. If a state decides to add any component like milk or eggs to the menu, the Centre does not bear the additional cost. Now that restriction has been lifted.
The scheme has a provision for supplementary nutrition for children in aspirational districts and those with high prevalence of anaemia.